Better Understanding
by Rethy
Summary: Amidst rainy Central stand two persons who have both lost someone in common, but have yet to truly discuss about how the other feels. Rated T for language amongst other things.
1. Prologue: Reminiscence of Cold

_Author's note:_

After a long time (let us take a moment to thank real life for being annoying), I'm finally back with new content! Though I had originally planned on working on a sequel for Piece of Advice, this idea wouldn't leave my mind since rewatching FMA and so I decided to take my own twist on the story that many others have attempted and hopefully I'll succeed just as much as them!

It's kinda hard to get back IC with everyone after nearly a year so if you feel something wouldn't fit the characters, please mention it to me, I always aim for getting better at writing characters as they should be!

 _(Note: This author's note had to arrive a day after the story was posted due to the fact that for some reason it wouldn't properly send it. Sorry about that.)_

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This wasn't a pretty day, Roy Mustang noted while yawning as he observed the rain mercilessly pouring down upon Central and took his sweet time to walk back to his office. Today's amount of workload had been surprisingly easygoing on his easily distracted mind and it filled Roy with joy at the idea of soon being able to return home to relax under the sound of the pouring rain. Unfortunately the reality was that the day wasn't over just yet. The young Colonel had to bother to return to his office despite having no paperwork as he would not be able to leave Central HQ and head home until he took care of his final obligation: Edward Elric's report.

But as he thought of the name, it tainted his previous glee in grim colours. It wasn't due to the report; the mission had only been like any other in that Edward had been looking for hints on the Philosopher's Stone, only to find a rogue alchemist.

No, the reason behind Roy's reluctance with meeting Edward was rather simple and complicated at the same time. It would be only fair to say that since Edward found out about Hughes' death, their relationship hadn't exactly been positive.

His footsteps solemnly resonated throughout the corridors as Roy bitterly remembered that Edward had barged in the room filled with anger; he remembered the look of pure broken trust on Edward's face that almost hurt. And in the face of Edward's screams and accusations, back then Roy could only silently watch on as his subordinates did their best to restrain the young boy and prevent him from injuring anyone.

* * *

 _"Say something, dammit! Don't you care about a single person around you, you fucking bastard?!"_

* * *

Roy shook his head in an attempt to dismiss the memories, but they were hard to ignore. After being successfully calmed down, Edward had then done his best to completely avoid him, going as far as to skip out on meals when he had to be in the same building to not risk meeting him. The last time they had talked was five days ago, when Roy gave him his assignment. But the boy didn't even mutter as much as an insult back then so it was just a one-sided talk.

Would he even show up today, or was Roy's time being wasted away? That simple question plagued his mind as he set his hand on the doorknob leading to his office. Roy would have to force him to come using military authority, but in the end it wouldn't really solve the underlying issue. In the end, had he been right in just not saying anything? He could have just blown Edward off in the cold way he always used when bringing the boy back to the reality he had stepped in.

As he turned the doorknob and entered the room, however...


	2. Chapter 1: Intrusion of Somnolence

Surprisingly – and thankfully – the boy had not attempted to escape from his military duties. However, what he found was a lot more astonishing: Edward seemed to have fallen asleep after sitting down on the couch, waiting for the Colonel who silently closed the door to observe the walls that hadn't suffered any aggressions. Turning his attention back to Edward, the black attire of the young boy made Roy notice that the bright red coat was currently being correctly hanged on the coat-hanger.

What could possibly lead the most prideful boy Roy had ever met to show himself so defencelessly in front of the man whom he had wanted to put in a hospital only a mere week ago? Wondering this Roy got closer, only to note that Edward's eyes were underlined with black circles, and the boy could almost look bare-bones, clear signs that he wasn't taking proper care of himself.

Roy looked around, also noting the new addition on his desk that was Edward's report, causing him to question why Edward didn't just drop the report and dash out of there considering his extended efforts to avoid his commanding officer. Had the boy been too tired to even head outside the office, or had he decided to talk with him? Roy had no way of knowing for now. He looked down on his slumbering youngest subordinate after checking the time. It was currently five in the afternoon, but Edward showed no signs of waking up soon. Perhaps he would just read Edward's report and go back home, leaving the young boy in this seemingly painful sleeping position.

Yes, that was a good idea that befitted the cold and calculative man that was Roy Mustang. He didn't need any attachment to his subordinates, it would only create weaknesses and drag him down, he thought as he headed for his desk...

…

…

 _(Goddammit.)_ Roy truly had no right to ever judge Armstrong for being soft-hearted. "...How do I go about this?" He pondered; while he had the idea on setting Edward down in a more comfortable position for now, if the boy happened to wake up with Roy right in front of his face, Roy feared the damage to his attractive young face would be beyond what any degree of medical knowledge could salvage. And it's not like Roy even wanted to manoeuvrer automail around, either.

But his saviour arrived at that time; Riza Hawkeye opened the door to the office to check in on the mysterious and suspicious silence that was reigning in Roy's office, only to find Edward asleep and Roy looking at her with a finger in front of his mouth. "Ah Lieutenant, you couldn't have arrived at a better time. His position makes my back hurt just from looking at it, so set him down, will you?" Riza calmly closed the door, staring at Roy with assessing eyes as she approached Edward.

Slowly and gently, Riza put a hand on Edward's metal arm and wrapped her other arm around his shoulders to ease him down as she set his head on the armrest of the couch. "Sir, may I ask what's going on?" Roy only shrugged to that question to show he didn't really have an idea himself.

"It seems Fullmetal's accidentally decided to crash here while I was away." The Colonel sat down to his desk and grabbed the report. "You may go home, Lieutenant."

"But Edward seems..."

"Don't worry, I'll stay here until he wakes up at the very least." Upon the sight of her hesitation to leave the exhausted Edward alone, Roy had sighed and reassured her, which earned him a satisfied nod followed by a salute as Hawkeye left the office. That was a good deed done, that could possibly earn him a bullet threat less. Roy then remembered the coat that was still on the coat-hanger, and with another sigh, rose to drape it over Edward. "Even asleep you still manage to be a handful..."


	3. Chapter 2: Labour of Rain

The clock was ticking close to 11 P.M as Roy internally growled. Just how much could this kid sleep? It had already been seven hours and the boy had yet to show any signs of waking up, there was only so much Roy could entertain himself with in this office with hardly anything but paperwork!

He should not have reassured Hawkeye with a promise that would earn his a bullet in the head if it was broken. Roy had thought that he had a good grasp of how much Edward could nap, but this shrimp easily destroyed his expectations...!

As if the boy felt the insult that ran through Roy's head just now, grunting noises could be heard from the couch, and Roy lifted his head with a look of relief; it had been so silent that he would've feared Edward had died without his occasional breathing and chest movements. "Ngh..." With discomfort, the small frame that was Edward slowly lifted itself from the couch groggily, not missing the fact that his coat was over him and as his eyesight finally cleared up, realisation hit him. "...Shit."

"You can say that again." Edward's eyes widened as he realised he wasn't alone, and he quickly shot a glance at the Colonel who was resting with one arm on his desk, bearing a look of utter boredom. "Good thing though that there weren't many issues with your report besides the usual chicken scratch and amount of destruction." Edward returned his gaze to his feet, rising from the couch with his coat in hand.

Though as he was about to head out of the office, Roy followed and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "The Lieutenant was worried, so I'll accompany you back." Edward tried to shake off Roy's grasp on his shoulder as he shook his head to refuse the offer, however Roy was growing tired of his withdrawn attitude and forced him out into the corridor after grabbing his coat.

"I didn't say I was leaving you a choice." Roy specified in a harsh tone but Edward only showed his back to him as if wanting to absolutely hide his face, and with that they started heading outside of the HQ.

As they arrived at the HQ entrance, they noted it was still pouring outside so badly that even if they were to hurry to the car, they would still be drenched. Only Roy did effort to avoid spending too much time under the rain regardless of that, as Edward merely dragged his feet along under the rain as if he was going to fall over at any time. Roy felt like just admonishing him, but there was no use calling out to him since he remembered a specific issue that justified Edward's tottering...

Automail users usually didn't do so well with rainy weather.

* * *

 _Splash!_

"Ghk...kah! Hah... hah..." Edward panted out as he fell over from not managing to properly lift his left leg. He was dragged to the muddy ground while he clenched his automail shoulder with his left hand and his face was contorted with pain.

Roy, who felt bad for the poor boy having to endure this each time it rained, would have turned back to observe the fallen boy and offer his hand if he didn't know Edward wouldn't push him away with his arm, which he did to warn Roy to lay off as the young boy forced himself back up to limp his way to the car. Roy sighed for the umpteenth time today and slowed his pace in case Edward fell over again.

They finally arrived and sat down in the car without any further incidents thankfully. Roy only looked at Edward with worry... both for him, and for the seat that welcomed his muddy clothing. "Fullmetal." He called out as the engine started rumbling, the boy was more focused on tuning the pain out than paying attention to Roy. "Fullmetal..." He started again, feeling like smacking this kid's head for ignoring him even if he couldn't help his automail ports aching when this time, Edward only slightly shifted his head in Roy's direction. "Edward!"

"...W...hat?" A voice strangled by pain and an urging need to throw up finally replied, perhaps the first time Edward genuinely talked to Roy in what felt like a long time.

"You'll have some explaining to do about today."

"R-Really now..." Edward, despite the pain lingering in his arm and leg, still manage to retort with annoyed sarcasm, which threw Roy off beyond the limits of his patience with the boy. Roy was satisfied that he was talking now but it didn't mean Edward was free to have a constant attitude and as such there was a sudden change of plans. "Colonel..." Edward started when he realised that Roy suddenly changed the destination to something wasn't the way to his hotel, and there was no way Roy would just get lost even if it was pouring. "Where are we going?"

Edward was only greeted by silence from a Colonel very focused on the road right now for hardly any reason. "Hey, Colonel." Still nothing, Edward was growing worried at what Roy planned, his already short temper being even shortened by the automail ports hurting. He had checked the road real quick but surely there was nothing warranting such focus.

So he could only assume Roy was paying him back for the silent treatment he had given Roy for the past week or so.

"Mustang!"

"You'll see." Roy finally conceded, unable to properly stand the screech that was Edward shouting right next to him, especially with a voice twisted by pain. What Roy said didn't particularly reassure Edward, though the sound of the rain as well as his general lack of proper rest – despite the long "nap" from earlier – started to make him too drowsy to muster the energy to argue further. And thankfully, too drowsy to continue feeling the throbbing pain near his shoulder and knee.


	4. Chapter 3: Merriment of Ridicule

The young blonde-haired boy that had fallen asleep at some point during the trip slowly breathed in and out in what seemed like a peaceful nap until Roy left the car and shook Edward awake, who reluctantly left the comfort of a warmer car in favour of the cold rain with a groan. They had finally arrived.

Edward, who was slowly starting to wake up, stared incredulously at the apartment complex he was facing as Roy made sure the car was correctly locked. The older man followed up by pulling another key from his pocket and hurried to open the door to the apartment complex, leading Edward into a specific apartment.

The apartment only had five rooms but was pretty spacious regardless: a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom that actually had both a shower and a bath, as well as two rooms welcomed Roy Mustang, the only person who was currently living here. The walls were in tones of white, with accompanying beige and light/dark grey furniture, though Roy only had the bare minimum of furnitures to accompany this rather grand apartment for one person, most of his furniture would accommodate lights, papers and books. Overall the apartment had a rather minimalist feel to it as if to show Roy didn't spend a whole lot of time in it anyway.

With closer observation, Edward noticed one of the rooms had been rearranged into what felt like an alchemist's den, where most of Roy's books regarding alchemy were stored away, and though he noticed papers on the desk against the wall near a window, Roy quickly pulled him out and closed the door behind him before he could get a proper look at the papers. "I live alone so don't expect an abundance of extravagance if you decide to roam around, but that's no invitation to cause a mess with the low amount of what's here. I like things as they are" Roy suddenly explained as Edward set himself down... or at least tried to before he was grabbed by the collar and shoved into the bathroom.

Roy rushed in the bathroom as well while Edward was growling, grabbing some spare soap and shampoo for the young boy to use before pushing them in his hands. "You stink and just generally look like hell. Take a shower or a bath, or both for all I care, but get yourself clean. And give me your clothes while you're at it, I'll wash and dry them for you."

"There is no way in hell I'm showering with you around, and giving you my clothes while we're at it!" Edward argued, having seemingly retrieved some of his arguing fire against Roy at the idea of having Roy do him two favours.

"Then wash your clothes in the bath and walk around in the bathroom naked until your clothes dry, if you think that'll work better." Roy dead-panned sarcastically in return as he left the bathroom, extending his hand while awaiting the clothes. "I suggest you don't try to avoid the shower, if you don't want me to barge in to make sure you actually take one. Don't think the lock or alchemy will help you." However, only a door came his way, which he thankfully avoided at the last moment.

It did not seem like Roy would give up, so Edward could only cut his suffering short. "Fine, I'll shower, but go away! I'll do something about my clothes by myself!" Edward yelled from the other side of the door, leaving Roy perplexed. The boy sure had an issue with letting anyone do anything for him, did he dislike debts that much...? But never mind, Roy thought as he picked up the phone when he heard water running. After he made his call, Roy decided to read a regular novel from his bookshelf and sat on the touch while waiting for Edward to finish.

* * *

He had done it, he had tried to wash his clothes in a bath. That's how much he didn't want to be indebted to Roy.

Edward brushed through his drenched hair as he sat in front of his mirror with only his boxers and observed his tired reflection, he had to admit, with the rain just killing his automail ports Roy's suggestion of spending some time in bath water had been quite relaxing. But what now? He much preferred digging a hole and hiding himself in it than admitting that there was no way the pile of soaking clothes would dry any time soon on their own and giving them to Roy would mean being defeated. Not to mention his hair and the last thing he wanted was the Colonel to get on his case for dripping water around his apartment.

But Edward, the Fullmetal Alchemist, had a brilliant idea as soon as he got rid of all the knots in his hair, rendering it as smooth as it could possibly get and looked at his clothes and his hair.

At least, what _felt_ like a brilliant idea at the moment.

…

…

 _Clap!_

From the living room, Roy could see a bright light coming from the bathroom following by the sound of a small explosion. A light he was very familiar with; the light of alchemical transmutations. "Didn't I tell him that wouldn't help him?" Roy thought in half-shock as he rushed in front of the locked bathroom, hoping the young boy hadn't decided to literally destroy his bathroom to escape ... Fortunately, he hadn't, but as the bathroom door opened to reveal the younger boy still in his boxers and handing out his clothes Roy couldn't help but wish that perhaps it would've been better for him and his pride if he had attempted to escape.

"Nice afro, Fullmetal. Perhaps slightly overcooked, but it makes you gain a small amount of height. Small amount."

Edward only gave him an annoyed glance, but didn't rile up to the bait as Roy took the clothes away to wash them properly this time.

The older man had predicted he wouldn't be able to take care of his clothes himself so he had left some clothing on the couch. Sitting around in his boxers next to his commanding officer would get very awkward, very quickly, so Edward had reluctantly accepted defeat and transmuted Roy's old, unused clothes to fit him ... Unfortunately, that transmutation didn't escape Roy's mocking of the fact that Edward had to remove a lot of the material off the clothes just for them to fit.

Though one issue still remained unsolved and that was his unholy afro, causing Edward to come close to breaking the brush in frustration when his hair got stuck in his automail while he was combing. At the sight of Roy getting up from the couch again, Edward quickly moved away to blurt an excuse, anything to get away from Roy. "I can take care of this alo– Uwaaah!" However the poor boy had no choice and got dragged in the bathroom again, where Roy shoved his head in the shower and carefully passed some water through the hair without drenching the clothes he had on.

"I think this would go a lot quicker if you'd quit trying to brush a dry and charred afro with steel." He grabbed the brush and slowly worked on the once again drenched blonde mane up until a point where Edward could take over without lashing out and making himself bald spots in his frustration.

"...thanks." Edward muttered and Roy nodded in satisfaction as Edward's head gradually returned to being something recognisable.


	5. Chapter 4: Rally of Folly

"Fullmetal." Roy called out to the young boy as he finished his own shower after the whole ordeal, putting away the reading material that had been scattered around while doing so. "You're gonna stay over tonight." Edward's face, at that news, was a mysteriously funny mix of utter horror, worry, and disgust. The last part somewhat bothered Roy, however it seemed there was no helping the first interpretations children would get from what adults said at times. "Stop looking at me like that, I don't enjoy the idea either, for your information."

"Then just let me go back to my hotel room." Edward simply stated. "Al is probably waiting for me anyway."

"That he is not." Roy guaranteed as he explained the fact that he had called Alphonse earlier to explain that Edward would be sleeping over. However, the amount of concern in Edward's eyes as soon as he finished talking caught him slightly off guard.

"But Alphonse, he's...!"

"Don't argue with me, Fullmetal." Roy tapped his own right shoulder. "Neither of us are in any condition to go there." It was true, even if Edward wasn't feeling sick from the rain, Roy was too tired to properly drive at two in the morning and he wouldn't willingly endanger their lives just because the kid was too damn stubborn.

"Unless, of course, there's something you feel like explaining to me. Perhaps it's related to why you haven't been sleeping correctly?" Started Roy, showing his true intention for bringing Edward to his apartment: trap him in an environment where Roy could ask him something without him trying to escape.

However, Roy stared at Edward with worry as the child seemed to not have registered what Roy had just said and his eyes started glazing over until he snapped out of it and rushed to Roy's toilet, dry-heaving violently from the lack of aliments in his stomach. Though Roy was aware that automail users suffered the effects of barometric pressure change more than people with normal limbs and joints, he hadn't seen it taking such a violent toll on the bearer before. It was most likely due to Edward hiding any signs of pain whenever he could.

The military man sighed as the younger boy who confirmed he was in no state to head outside slowly forced himself back up when he stopped dry-heaving.

"Go and rest, Fullmetal."

Edward wanted to argue, but he knew better than to stupidly say he was okay when he had accidentally demonstrated what he wasn't doing okay at all. His head was starting to hurt badly so he decided to silently accept the offer without waiting for the confirmation of where he'd be sleeping and headed for the couch.

Roy briefly headed back in his room to retrieve a spare pillow and blanket, throwing them on Edward who was caught off guard by the action before turning off the lights and returning to his room.

The rain was still pounding heavily against Roy's windows, but thankfully it seemed no storm would occur tonight.

* * *

Despite his vain attempts at falling asleep to have enough energy to continue dealing with Edward the next day, Roy was paying a lot more attention to the noise the rain was generating than usual and found himself sitting on his desk's chair with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Not even he was quite certain of what he was doing and for what purpose as he went through alchemical papers while he drank his whiskey; the papers were quite old and were fairly creased now since they were written by Roy himself back when the Ishbal Civil War was still fresh and new in his mind.

Perhaps it was that Edward's presence reminded him of last week and what happened to cause last week's events. His worn out eyes would sometimes shift back to picture frames that were on the edge of his desk, but one stood out in particular.

A picture that represented both himself and Maes Hughes, his best friend since military school. The picture only depicted them both in their military uniforms with the bearded man smiling a lot more as he lifted his hat than the clean-shaven one who only slightly smiled in his very soldier-like position. Roy's eyes were filled with sad nostalgia as he took another gulp of the comforting amber liquid as he read on, slowly losing consciousness on his desk the more he read as the clock ticked time away.

But what the usually sharp man hadn't noticed was that Edward had had trouble sleeping as well, and was currently observing his sleeping figure, as well as what laid bare on his desk.

"Colonel..."

The papers Roy had dragged him away from were theories on human transmutation, Edward realised with slightly widened eyes though he wasn't actually that surprised.

After reading the papers that sat on the desk Edward usually would have felt anger and disgust, he would have lashed out on the idiot who wrote those theories for ever considering doing something stupid like that. And he wanted to do just that as he clenched his teeth so hard and his metal fingers were clenched so tightly you'd think the boy was trying to break them.

With his trembling flesh hand, he picked up the frame containing the picture that Roy had occasionally been looking at, and on his face laid an expression no teenager should ever make.

It was flooded with sorrowful regret because he couldn't blame Roy for looking into human transmutation. To him, his whole situation...

...no matter how much he tried to justify it...

"It's... my..."

...was his own fault, after all.


	6. Chapter 5: Insistence of Seclusion

Waking up proved to be a difficult task for the man who had drank himself to sleep last night; Roy Mustang groggily tried to rise from his chair as his back screamed out in protest from the harsh treatment it had received over night. However, admitting he should be more careful about his sleeping postures was almost like admitting he was growing old, and Roy Mustang was hardly even thirty yet so he prefered discarding the idea of even thinking of himself as old.

Roy went to the bathroom to wash his face a handful of times to see if that would help, but while it did help a bit at making him look less sleepy, anyone who closely observed could see that Roy's hangover was far from over. The whisky had been a very bad idea as he realised the clock's hand slowly moved towards dangerous hours that indicated he was late, Roy could only groan at the sight.

He would have to leave without a single bite of food in his stomach so he prayed lunch would arrive rapidly once he'd start working, but who was he kidding, work made everything feel like it arrived much more slower than it did.

"Mmm.."

Roy remembered he had an unplanned guest as he heard groggy moans from the couch that only welcomed a pile of blanket. Most likely, the person under had decided to just create a shield out of the blanket. "Fullmetal." Roy called out a first time to the young boy hidden under the covers as he poked the blanket fort. Only a faint grunting was returned so Roy tried again. "Oi, Fullmetal." Still no answer besides the soft mountain shifting slightly.

"Fullmetal!" Edward seemed to have as much problems waking up as he did, but he didn't have the time to deal with that specific problem so he issued what could have almost sounded like a military order that seemingly worked as Edward fell off the couch in fear while Roy moved away. "Uwaaah! The heck's wrong with you, jackass?!" Edward shouted without thinking as he tried to untangle himself from the blanket he had been so tightly wrapped in. As he finally poked his head out of the blanket, it was covered yet again by cloth as Roy threw his usual black clothes on the boy.

"Hurry up and get dressed, I'm late for work." Roy noted, assisting the boy out of his fluffy hell. Though as soon as Edward saw Roy, his sullen mood returned and he only meekly nodded to Roy's words. Roy would have been bothered if only he didn't plan on forcing Edward to talk sooner or later; preferably sooner.

The boy quickly returned in his black attire with sparse drops of water still dripping from his face. He was making his braid as he nodded towards Roy that he was ready to go, and Roy grabbed his coat to lead Edward to his car.

* * *

The rain had thankfully settled down for the most part, though it still gave work to the wiper blades as Roy drove more carefully than usually. He had waited to see if the kid would say anything but Edward only looked out the window as if refusing to see Roy so it seemed Roy would need to take the initiative.

"Fullmetal." He started and the boy only returned a sigh as he looked at Roy, seemingly not as grumpy as he was the previous day as the aching in his limbs had finally calmed down, at least for the moment.

"What?"

"Now, do you feel like explaining yourself?

"About?" Edward replied with an empty voice as his glance returned to the window; he had fully realised that Roy would probably not stop nagging him if he kept quiet, so the boy decided to take another approach.

"Why you haven't been sleeping or eating."

"I'm perfectly fine, Colonel, if that's what you're concerned about."

"Is that why you fell asleep in my office despite wanting to kill me only a week back? I can't say I'd ever allow myself to fall asleep in enemy territory." Roy retorted to Edward's nonsense that even the boy was aware of as he moved uncomfortably. "...I was taking a short nap." Edward bit his lip, as if anyone would qualify seven hours as 'short'.

"Fullmetal..." Roy growled as he stopped at a red light, turning around to see the rebellious teenager that wouldn't even give the respect of looking at his superior officer. "Answer the damn question."

Edward only spared a side-glance to his superior as he crossed his arms together. "Answer mine first." Roy wanted to interrupt Edward to point out he had been the one to ask first, but Edward lifted a hand to cut him off. "Why is the great, egocentric Colonel Mustang worried about my health?"

At least the boy was getting more talkative compared to yesterday, so Roy only sighed as he replied whilst hoping he wouldn't start sulking again. "If you must know, then it's because I have a duty to ensure the well-being of my subordinates."

"A duty, huh..." Edward snorted slightly as he unbuckled the seat belt without warning. "You don't need to babysit me just because of that, we both know I've never needed it. It'd be a shame if such an ambitious Colonel like yourself dragged himself down with that sort of dead-weight, right?"

What he said struck a chord in Roy. It frustrated the hell out of him but Edward was right: The military man Roy was was not supposed to burden himself with affection for his subordinates; for it would only serve as weaknesses in the stairs to reach the top he had slowly built himself over the years. Besides, as long as it wasn't causing any negative effects on his military duties, his lifestyle was his own to choose. Roy allowed for Havoc to smoke even though he was fully aware he was only killing his lungs, so why not let Edward do as he wishes as well?

"Very well." Roy replied in such a chilled manner that it disturbed Edward who suddenly turned around to see the Colonel with his eyes back on the road. "You may continue to ignore me with that attitude of yours. I only expect you to fully obey the orders I issue to you without back-talking, Fullmetal."

"Is that so?" Roy hadn't noticed, but Edward was grinding his teeth as he opened the door of the car to leave and slammed it back shut, gradually retreating under the rain. Roy, on the other hand, was clicking his tongue in frustration as he drove to Central Headquarters.


	7. Chapter 6: Incessancy of Restlessness

Alphonse Elric paced worriedly around in their shared hotel room as the sun was slowly setting amidst the falling drops of water that had resumed their violent course. This week had been bearer of quite the sad weather, Alphonse noted as he peeked out the window again. However, there didn't lay the source of his inquietude, no.

The sun was setting down and it was already dark outside thanks to the rain, but his brother Edward still hadn't returned. Surely the Colonel would have warned him if Edward were to stay at his apartment for longer?

There was no true reason to worry, but the anxiety-ridden Alphonse couldn't calm down considering the state of his brother for the past few days, and he didn't know the phone number of Roy's office or phone. _(What do I do...?)_ The armoured boy thought, looking at the rain fiercely hitting the closed windows. There was a risk his blood seal would wash away if he stayed outside while it was raining and an umbrella could only help so much, but...

But Alphonse couldn't just abandon his brother even if it meant endangering his own life, what if Edward had collapsed somewhere or was badly injured? His current state could very well lead to those events and it scared Alphonse out of his mind. So, uncaring of what could happen to him, Alphonse rushed out of the hotel with a small umbrella over his helmet as he prayed to catch Roy before he left Central Headquarters; because Alphonse had no bloody idea of where the older man could possibly live.

* * *

Roy sighed as he repeatedly tapped his pen against a sheet of paper in uneasiness. The workload was about the same as yesterday's, yet Roy took a horrible amount of time at finishing it since he had a lot on his mind as Riza looked on with worry.

"I'll need to do something about this paperwork once I become Fuhrer." Roy said emptily as he looked outside with a blank expression that wouldn't betray how he was feeling right now. The weather was so bad that anyone standing outside would definitely get sick if not worst if they were already weak to begin with.

Edward should be with his brother right now, Roy reassured himself as he tried to discard his concern for the younger boy. He knew he couldn't afford to babysit Edward both for the boy's sake and his own.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Riza asked as she slightly tapped Roy on the shoulder to bring him back from his thoughtful planet. Roy only shook his head to say nothing, but Riza returned him a stern look.

"It's noth–" The sound of a cocked gun could be heard. "I just asked Fullmetal why he hadn't been caring for himself, so he just decided to act rebellious and not tell me what's going on." He shrugged as he said this before continuing. "And he's right, after all, I'm not here to babysit him, so if he wants to lead an unhealthy lifestyle, it's not my problem until it affects his military duties."

"Edward would most certainly not want you to babysit him, yes." Riza confirmed, as she thought. It was hard to give an accurate analysis when she hadn't been at the scene, but Riza tried to remember as much as she could on Edward's attitude as of late. "But Colonel, perhaps Edward was just afraid of something." Roy slowly frowned at this as he stared at Riza, he showed no indication of knowing what it might be about.

"...Afraid?" He asked.

"In the end, we..." Riza started with a small and sad smile. "never really talked to Edward after what happened."

* * *

Roy and Riza had finished talking and despite how troubled they looked, they were currently heading towards their respective cars together to end the day until they stopped when they heard the sound of metal clanking together as it rushed towards them. Both were on their guard, but quickly relaxed at the sight of what that metal was.

"Colonel!" The metal was, in fact, the boy stuck in an armour called Alphonse Elric as he stopped in front of Roy, looking around with what would be a worried look if he could show any expressions. "Colonel, would you know where Brother happens to be?" The slight second of shock that was written on Roy's face did not reassure Alphonse at all, even if he hadn't had time to analyse it before Roy adopted his neutral face again.

"He hasn't returned to your hotel room yet?" Riza asked in Roy's stead. The head-shaking of the armour sent Roy into deep thoughts. "I don't know where he could be, I haven't seen him since yesterday..."

How could Edward ask Roy to not worry about him when he would not take the logical actions an adult would to justify he didn't need it? Surely he couldn't complain about people trying to take care of him when he seemingly didn't know how to do so by himself?! If Roy had not spent his entire time at the military perfecting his calm facial expression, he would be chewing his lip right now. _(I don't even know if this could be qualified as babysitting with how stupid he is sometimes...)_ Roy internally cursed at the young boy.

"Colonel, what's the matter?" Alphonse asked as anxiety took over his voice. Where could the boy be under this glaring weather? Roy thought about it deeply, there had to be something in his past attitude that would hint as to his current location...

...That's right.

"Lieutenant, you may go back home. I know where he is." Roy finally said as he marched on forwards as Riza sighed and saluted the man before resuming her route towards her car. She didn't need to tag along; Edward would surely be fine as long as Alphonse and Roy were there, she thought.

Alphonse just silently followed Roy to his car though the man seemed too deep in thought to be even talked to. Roy had decided one thing as he listened to armour walking; that what he was doing wasn't anything close to babysitting Edward.

No, what he was doing was... _(If he's gonna so as far as to worry his own brother, I'm going to snap that kid out of whatever's gotten into him.)_ Roy thought determinedly.


	8. Chapter 7: Anguish of Loath (Part 1)

Under the violent downpour stood Edward. Water dripped down his face, but it was only rain, crying would be out of the question for the person called Edward Elric. There was no way the boy would ever allow himself the luxury of crying; it didn't help him achieve his goals. And he couldn't allow himself that after forbidding someone from doing it, anyway.

He was currently in front of Maes Hughes's grave.

Edward had been standing there ever since he had left Roy's car over nine hours ago. That entire time was consumed in thoughts, things that a fourteen year old shouldn't be thinking about. But even though normality dictated it was wrong for him to think about those things, Edward often found himself forced to think about them, and his standing under the rain motionlessly was only a result of how much he was mentally torturing himself

"Brother!"

Although drowned by the sound of raindrops hitting the ground at rapid pace, a familiar metalic voice called out to him as he let his eyes slide towards the source of the voice who held an umbrella over the blonde's head. "Al...?" Then, a violent shock ran through his body, finally calling back the fire in his eyes.

"What are you doing here, Al?! Your blood seal is going to wash off!" Edward said, pushing Alphonse's arm back to himself so that the umbrella would cover his helmet. However, another umbrella suddenly protected him from the downpour, and when he turned around he found that the owner of the umbrella was Roy.

"I'd worry less about his blood seal and more about that brain of yours that seems to be gradually disappearing."

"Colonel..?" The look in his eyes suddenly shifted, and he tried to move away from Roy, but Roy only stepped forwards.

 _If he's scared of something, then I'll force it out of him._ Roy, grabbed the flesh arm of the boy who was still trying to get away, and dragged him all the way to a tree, smashing the young boy against it. Edward cried out as his back violently collided against the hard surface, adding more suffering to his already throbbing metal limbs. However, that wasn't the end of it as Roy made a fist out of his free hand and punched Edward right in the cheek with it.

He wasn't used to Roy ever really using violence.

"Colonel, what are you doing?!" Alphonse shouted as he tried to restrain Roy, but someone interrupted him with a shout. "Stay away, Al!" Surprisingly enough, the person who had shouted this was not Roy but Edward himself as he clung onto his superior's fist that was holding him in place.

"Brother..." Alphonse muttered as he observed the two who looked like they were due for an argument. "Don't worry, I'm okay Al." Edward said reassuringly to his younger brother who still hesitated on letting Roy do as he pleases before returning a glare to Roy.

"That, was for the brother you keep worrying." Roy growled mercilessly at the boy whose eye was teary from the impact and subsequent burning sensation on his cheek. A second punch flew on Edward's face though the rain had drowned out any noise of impact. The added pain however had not been suppressed.

"And that, was for worrying my Lieutenant."

However, the last justification seemed to have unexpectedly riled him off. "Get the hell off me!" Edward growled right back as if he hadn't been glooming only a few seconds ago, using his automail to push Roy off him. Edward had succeeded and tried moving away but Roy was only briefly dazed by the push and moved to quickly grab Edward's metal arm, twisting the younger boy's body and arm to force him against the tree once again in an arm-lock.

Even if he was an alchemist, he remained a soldier nonetheless. One couldn't just underestimate the sheer strength of someone who had gone through harsh military training, Edward painfully noted.

"Now you listen to me, Fullmetal." His imposing voice rendered Edward unable to just cut him off in his sentence. "I am _sick and tired_ of people hiding things from me like Hughes did." The mention of the name made Edward's eyebrows twitch. "You can keep glooming around all you want, but you are _not_ going to continue hiding things from me."

For once, the contorted boy could see that there was obvious hurt in Roy's eyes and that was because if he had been aware of what was going on, then perhaps he would have prevented Hughes's death. "Do I make myself clear?" He reaffirmed his unrelenting will to prevent that from happening again as he tightened his grip. Edward frowned in confusion at the display Roy was showing.

"You're going to tell me what's the matter right this instant."

Edward stared indecisively at his superior for a few instants, should he tell him or not? Would he still manage to make things worst than they already are? Doubt plagued Edward's mind until Roy's grip tightened.

"What's the matter... with you?" Edward muttered out defiantly as the downpour raged on around them. Roy's confused stare caused him to continue. "What the fuck's up with you?" Edward repeated as he kicked his superior to loosen the grip around him without injuring him and pushed him away, not showing any intent on escaping besides moving away to avoid Roy grabbing him again.

"I'm afraid I don't get it, Fullmetal."

"Hey, Colonel..." Edward started with a dark and self-deprecating tone as his head dropped down and he re-adjusted his vest's collar. "Why the hell are you concerned about me, despite what I did? And what I said?"

Roy looked at him matter-of-factly despite the confusion he felt as he replied. "I'm not really sure what you mean by "what you did", though I'd like for you to remind me of a time where you didn't already say what you've told me since we've met."

This flared Edward up beyond what he could control. "I told you that you didn't care about Hughes! I wasn't even there when he died, _despite the fact that it was entirely my fault and I still somehow managed to blame you!_ _Yet you don't think anything of it!?_ Don't fuck around with me! Don't tell me you don't _resent_ me for that, and that wasn't why you two lied to me!" As he realised what he was blurting out, Edward slapped his hands on his mouth.

...

* * *

"In the end, we... never really talked to Edward after what happened."

* * *

...

"Your accuracy is frightening as always, Lieutenant..." Roy muttered to himself as he was still trying to process what the boy was saying, surely a result of a distraught state of mind.

He had said way too much there. "That's not what I... That's..." He stuttered as a blush formed on his face, eyeing a place where he could just go and hide, because right now he really wanted to crawl in a hole and die there. Edward had only planned on asking why Roy was bothering with him, never on actually mentioning that he actually worried about whether Roy and Riza had started despising him. Edward fully expected the much hated jackassery Roy could display when mocking him so he tried to avoid saying anything about it, but despite that he went ahead and blurted it out...!

But worse... what if he confirmed it?

"Fullmetal." Roy called out, causing Edward to snap out of his stuttering frenzy and try to escape but Roy was faster and grabbed him by the trousers. Edward landed on his ass and Roy moved in front of him to show his dominance over the situation.

"So if I'm understanding correctly, the reason you've been avoiding me the past week wasn't because you were still angry at me for hiding his death..."

"Shut up!"

"...but because you were scared _we_ would be angry at you?" Roy finished, but despite how hard he tried he couldn't stop a smirk from forming on his face, and Edward only glared at him. Edward used to act like an adult so much that Roy hadn't even imagined that the boy would care about a proper adult's feelings towards him, much like a child.

Though, when he thought about it, it made sense. Edward _was_ still a child and he couldn't live fully independently no matter how hard he wanted to.

"Well _excuse me_ for thinking about others, Colonel Shithead!" Edward said defensively in his embarrassment as he stood up. "I'll take care to be just as emotionless as you next time!"

"See, you say it all the time. Now, do you care to enlighten me on why I'd suddenly resent you?"

So far, no signs of resentment were apparent so Edward tried to look for an escape from this discussion. "Go to hell, bastard."

"If you're worried about embarrassing yourself any further, then it's somewhat late for that." Edward's stare spoke of murderous intents and made Roy slightly raise his hands in an attempt to make peace.

A heavy sighed followed as the boy thought about it. "You're not gonna let it go, are you?" Edward only stared at Roy; he gradually came to understand the older man would not get off his back until he satisfied his curiosity and he bit his lip as a result. Edward was very well-aware that if Roy had to follow someone to the ends of the Earth to obtain what he wants, he would do so.

"Absolutely not." Roy confirmed.

The boy sighed heavily as he scratched his head, he would most likely regret telling him once Roy would have his share of laughter, yet it didn't seem like he had been given a choice a choice. "All of this is my fault, isn't it?" Edward said with a self-deprecating laugh as he turned sideways to not face Roy. "No matter what I do, in the end I'm just a good-for-nothing that only makes other people casualties of my stupidity. Hughes got killed because he helped my in my reckless quest I should have been the only one to engage on."

Roy and Alphonse only listened to the boy who was worried that at any time, Roy would agree with him.

"Why wouldn't you and the Lieutenant hate me? Because I kept going with something that I knew was dangerous and carelessly decided to trust someone, I got your best friend killed. I'm so pathetic that because I couldn't stand it, I took it out on you and the others."

This time the unsettling emptiness in that child's eyes made Roy want to intervene, but Edward didn't even leave him the chance to reply as he continued.

"Alphonse, too..." Alphonse flinched as Edward lifted his hands to his face, hiding it behind his hands while he somewhat found himself enjoying the cold feeling of his metal hand as he started laughing again. "He said that he wasn't angry that I'd dragged him into this whole mess where he lost his body, but what now? Because of me, someone got killed. There's no way Alphonse wouldn't despise me if I just keep killing off everyone I know."

"Brother, that's not true! I'm at fault for Lieutenant Colonel Hughes's death as well!" Alphonse said, but when Edward finally removed his hands from his face it just looked defeated in its regret but his eyes had dared Roy to prove him wrong as he turned towards Alphonse. "No, you're not. And I don't even know how to make it up to you, Al..."

"Brother..." Alphonse was about to continue trying to persuade Edward he was just as equally at fault, but Roy stopped him by raising his arm in front of the armour.

"Fullmetal, were you trying to spend more time with your brother by not sleeping or eating to excuse yourself?" A weak nod from both brothers prompted Roy to carefully pick out his words as to not rile up the kid into accusing himself even further. "I can't help you with your brother, that's something only you two can sort out." And as he tapped Alphonse's armour he knew they would, those brothers had a very strong bond after all.

He said as he took a glance towards the grave Edward had been standing in front of. "But as for Hughes.. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"...What?"


	9. Chapter 8: Anguish of Loath (Part 2)

Edward had been the one to speak, but both brothers hadn't registered well what Roy said, which left the older man somewhat bemused at the silence that followed that simple word. "I wouldn't have Hughes's death any other way, for that was the most befitting way for him to end. I can't imagine anything else taking him away than his recklessness in his attempts to help others. Most certainly not old age."

"But if I hadn't been there... if I hadn't been causing trouble, he'd still be here!" Edward said, frenzy growing in his voice as his confusion grew further and further.

"Nothing guarantees that." Roy pointed out to the seemingly distressed young boy who was looking for arguments to prove everything was his fault. He had a point, but Edward still couldn't agree.

"Even if that were true, doesn't it even slightly disgusts you to be standing in front of the person who got him killed?! I took away a father from his family!"

"Did you stab him?" Roy simply asked and when Edward hesitantly shook his head, he got closer to grab the metal arm Edward would occasionally transmute into a blade while Edward struggled to get it out of Roy's grasp. "Then surely, if it wasn't premeditated, it wasn't "your fault" as you say it."

"Weren't you you liste–"

"Admittedly, that is somewhat the case; you two are to blame. But not in the way you think because you didn't cause Hughes's direct death despite having a part of responsibility in his death. Most certainly not enough to pin it entirely on yourselves, though." He looked at Alphonse as well whom he realised was playing the self-blaming game as well. The words were therefore directed towards both but in the end, he was not one to sugar-coat things for the Elrics or anyone else.

"So what? Are you going to continue sulking around while ignoring us? With your brother's body and your own on the line, are you going to continue just looking back and telling yourself that if you hadn't been there, things would have been better rather than look ahead and continue _trying_ to make them better?"

"You're a royal pain in the ass." Roy quickly resumed before Edward could get anything out. "Rude, reckless, borderline idiotic despite being a genius, and I could go on and on. But the fact that the actions influenced by those traits led to bad consequences doesn't mean it inherently makes you a bad person."

"Yes it does! Because I was fully aware that this was dangerous!"

"Fullmetal, an entire soldier's life is filled with danger. I allowed your research well-aware that this might happen at some point." Roy pointed out as he leaned in closer to speak right in his face with his usual cool-headedness. "Do you have the time to play the game of languish as some sort of twisted atonement? You have a goal, don't you?"

"I don't want people to die on me because of it, and especially not those who helped me get back up! I want to give back to Al what's rightfully his, but I don't want people I know to die for that goal! I just..." Edward chewed on his lip, as a specific part was left unsaid. _'….don't want to be left all alone'._

It was painfully obvious to Roy and Alphonse from the earlier outburst but to Edward, that was a pathetically selfish thing to think when he had been the cause of another person's death, yet he just couldn't stop worrying about whether his actions would really isolate him to a point of no return. That's why he wouldn't say it.

"You can't keep going on the what ifs, nor can you keep trying to look for the non-existent, idealistic answer that will salvage everyone. You're a dog of the military, you're supposed to know that these things will happen on the path you've chosen, that's something all soldiers are aware of and accepted. Loss is nothing a soldier isn't used to."

"Then why did you drink yourself to sleep yesterday, if it's as easy as you make it sound like?!" Edward hissed, revealing the fact that he had indeed been in his office while he was sleeping.

"That's..." Roy wasn't sure how to reply, perhaps it had just been a complete coincidence that he found himself drinking that night, or it hadn't been and he just was reminded too much of his best friend's death. He loosened his grip on Edward's arm, slightly ashamed of having shown such a pathetic side of himself. "...a habit. A miserable habit for miserable adults meant to facilitate acceptance, Fullmetal. I never said it was easy, but that habit is not something I want you to understand."

Edward stayed speechless at Roy's insinuation that it was hard on him too, considering the man would rarely ever open up.

"Listen to me, because I am not going to repeat myself any further: The Lieutenant and I knew that this would happen eventually either to him or to us just as much as you should know it. If you let the fear of endangering others control you, then go ahead." Roy nodded in the direction of Alphonse. "Tell Alphonse you're giving up on retrieving his body." Edward only growled audibly at the idea and looked like he really wanted to spit on Roy, if there was one person he couldn't fail then it was Alphonse.

"I warned you when you joined the military and even after, Fullmetal. The path you've chosen is a ruthless one that will break you repeatedly; one that you'll need to force through to get to your goals regardless of what happens. Sacrifices will be there, whether you accept that or not."

Roy tightened his grip once more on the metal limb while he was reminded of Nina Tucker's death; Edward had had a really bad time accepting her death even back then, didn't he?

"Will you abandon your kid brother in favour of your own personal feelings? What have you spent the last three years working on? You said yourself you didn't mind being a dog of the military as long as you could each your goals; you should know after all this time that you can't let this get to you.

So which will it be, Fullmetal? Abandon your brother or persevere until the day you can handshake a farewell to the military with your flesh hand, with your brother by your side?"

"Brother, I'm at fault too so don't try to tone me out to take the entirety of the blame." Alphonse finally said kindly as he approached Edward to put a hand on his metal arm as well. "We can't feel anything like this, can we? So we need to fix these mistakes together, Brother."

"Al... Colonel..."

They were right, and Edward knew it as he observed the hands that were on his arm that could feel nothing. But even then, it didn't make the pain of Hughes's death lessen so he stared at Roy with a regretful look at first.

* * *

"Don't tell me you're going to give up."

* * *

"Have a bit more faith in us and in your brother, Fullmetal, we're not going to just leave you suddenly." Roy insisted by gripping the prosthetic limb tighter.

But as the seconds passed his eyes slowly filled up with determination as he remembered what Gracia told him.

Then...

* * *

"If you two give up here, it'd mean my husband's death was completely meaningless."

* * *

Edward breathed in and looked at his superior with the determination the older man had been waiting for. "...It's fine if I just hold on to these negative feelings until I can prove his death wasn't uselessly lost by my hands, right?"

"Our hands, Brother." Alphonse reminded with a tap on his brother's arm before letting go, while Edward only returned a smile.

"If that's how you want to think of it." Roy let go of him with a satisfied smirk, he knew the pain of loss was still hard on teenagers so it's not like he was asking Edward to ignore those feelings entirely. Edward slightly grinned as a genuine laugh slipped out. "I do need to show your pompous ass who's the boss, anyway." He replied in his usual cocky manner that befitted him much better than glooming around.

"Boss, huh." Roy moved away from Edward as the boy followed along in an attempt to hit him after his next sentence. "Of dwarves, maybe."

"Ngah...! Why you, all the time...!"

"Brother, don't lurch right in the Colonel to hit him!" Alphonse had said too late to catch and hold Edward back, however Roy unexpectedly stopped in his tracks causing the boy to bump against his sturdy frame rather than hit him.

"..Wha! Hey!"

"Fullmetal, Alphonse." He started without turning around to face the annoyed Edward, making him grow as intensely curious as his brother regarding why his superior would stop so suddenly to call out to them. "If it comes to a point where what you're doing is really uselessly sacrificing others..." Roy resumed his walk as he got away from Edward.

"Then I will set you straight myself."

"Colonel..." Alphonse replied in surprise, not expecting Roy to take responsibility of him as well.

"..." Edward stood there speechless as he saw the back of his commanding officer retreating amidst the rain. Perhaps Roy could be a decent person once in a while, after all. "Colonel... thanks." He muttered while Alphonse was thankful no one could see his grin. Edward was uncertain of whether Roy had heard, but if he hadn't then he would _not_ go through the embarrassment of saying it again. Roy had heard however but showed no indications of such and only kept a slight smile to himself.

* * *

"Move forward on the path you're content with."

* * *

"Man, my automail is killing me..." Edward groaned as he dragged his limbs along.

"That's your own fault and... Brother, are you okay? You look paler than usual under this weather." Alphonse mentioned suddenly as they both resumed walking to catch up to the Colonel. Edward returned a confused glance to him.

"Huh? I'm fine..." So he had thought, but was proven otherwise as his left leg suddenly gave out on him and he crashed to the muddy ground, his face gradually reddening from more than the embarrassing thing he'd just said. "...or not."

"Brother!"

Roy turned back in time to see Alphonse crying out in worry to his older brother and sat on his knees near Edward to put his hand on the boy's forehead since Alphonse couldn't do so himself. Of course, Edward tried to push him away but he seemingly couldn't even muster the strength to do so and that was quite worrying. It seems he had gotten an unfortunate mixture of a cold added to his already aching limbs.

"Look at what you've done, you idiot. You're burning up." Roy complained as he got back up while Alphonse started carrying his brother. "We're going to have to return to my apartment."

"No way in hell, I'm fine." Edward scowled a complaint in returned as he lightly tried to shove his brother off. "You're sick and I'm not trusting you to take care of yourself. It's great that you can't get rid of me as easily as your brother, right?" Roy simply replied.

"Oh, shaddup..." Edward groaned as he fought to not fall unconscious right there and then. However that fight was lost and the last thing he could remember was Alphonse anxiously harassing the Colonel with questions as they set him down in the passenger seat.

… " _...ther!" …_


	10. Chapter 9 (FINAL): Better Understanding

The next thing he knew, Edward was slowly opening his eyes as he woke up on something that, despite being tough, was admittedly more comfortable than the muddy graveyard ground or a car; Roy's couch.

He wanted to complain about being in the Colonel's debt again but Edward found himself incapable to even think of a single insult as his head felt like it would explode at any time, and his throat was really sore. Thankfully, amidst the number of uncomfortable things going on in his body Edward felt a slightly damp but refreshing object laying flat on his forehead, cooling down his high temperature.

"Brother, are you awake?" The armour sitting next to the couch spoke in a quiet voice, which Edward was thankful for as his eyesight gradually became less blurry to a point where he could actually look around.

"...Feel like shit." Edward finally groaned pathetically as he slowly lifted a hand to his throbbing head. Looking at a clock hanging on the couch's wall; Edward realised it was currently two and a half in the morning and he further realised in annoyance that he hadn't done much but sleep and brood these days.

"That's why you shouldn't just stand in the rain for hours without an umbrella..." Alphonse muttered in an annoyed manner, how could this reckless boy possibly be his /older/ brother? But then again, considering how useful umbrellas were to Alphonse it could be said that Alphonse had been ready to do the same thing to find said brother, so perhaps recklessness was an Elric trait.

"Oh come on, I wasn't under the rain for /that/ long!" Edward retorted while still feeling an uncomfortable feeling in his throat: It was itchy as hell!

"Brother, the Colonel said you two separated in the morning..."

"Welllllllll... I could have been doing something else!" Edward averted his eyes as he scrambled to change the subject, but suddenly he frowned and turned back towards Alphonse. "Wait, where's the Colonel?"

Alphonse's helmet moved towards Roy's closed study for a nod. "He said he needed to do something so he went in there a few minutes ago after spending most of the night regularly making sure you were okay. I told him I'd take over." If Alphonse had an expression, it would be quite stern as he returned towards Edward.

"Make sure you properly thank him."

"No way I'm apologising to that prick." Edward slightly blushed; though he wouldn't admit it, if what Alphonse said was true and Roy had been regularly checking in on him until so late then he felt rather bad for being such a bother to Roy. And it was most likely true that the two had been taking care of him from the damp towel on his head.

"Brother..." Alphonse said dangerously, but Edward's attention had shifted elsewhere as frowned while he was looking at Roy's actual bedroom and furiously sniffing something. "What's the matt... Hey, you can't get up yet!"

"...The Colonel's in there?"

"I think so, why?"

Edward forced himself up despite his headache, dropping the towel to the ground as he staggered towards the door to confirm the fear his sense of smell had given him. "Al, something smells like it's burning!" Alphonse audibly gasped as he quickly followed along, understanding without words that it came from Roy's room which Edward forced himself in.

However, Edward found himself at a lack of words followed by Alphonse as they saw the source of the possible "incident":

Roy Mustang himself, had been repeatedly snapping to burn some documents that he had stuffed in the rubbish with the windows opened to avoid smoke. The precise control of the flame was a result of the intense focus that was appearant on his face so as to not burn down the entire room, and that had Edward curious as to what he was doing so he took a quick glance despite his headache but frowned at the sight of what Roy was burning.

It was still raining even though the weather had let down a lot more than for the past few days, yet Roy didn't seem bothered by having his window frames drenched by sparse drops of water.

"Colonel?" Alphonse timidly asked.

"The hell are you doing?" Edward called out to Roy who finally stopped in surprise, having not realised the boys were there. Roy quickly cut off his transmutation's fire before removing his gloves.

"Getting rid of something I've found to be useless."

"As useless as you are?" Edward snarled at the superior officer. "You get on _my_ case for being reckless, and then you burn rubbish in your own apartment?"

"The difference, Fullmetal." Roy raised an irritated finger at the younger boy that was implying of his uselessness. "Is that, unlike you, I don't have half a village pursuing me with pitchforks and flaming torches right now." Slowly, a smirk formed on his face as his words reminded the blushing Edward of the many times where he and Alphonse pissed off nearly an entire village.

Needless to say, Roy /did/ have a point as Edward glared at him. "Yeah, well committing arson isn't any better! You could've burnt the apartment down!"

"I dare say I have a good control over the situation enough to prevent that than what you could ever wish for. Or at least, "had" until a certain midget starting butting in..." Roy said thoughtfully as he brought a hand to his chin.

"Midget?! Butting in?! _Who the hell 'ya calling so small that a microscope wouldn't even see him?!_ Why, I'm gonna kick the living sh–" Edward jumped to hit the Colonel, but all he did thanks to Alphonse's efforts were kicking the air, and Roy just slightly laughed at the display.

"At ease, kid. I'm joking." Roy finally said as he sat down on his desk chair, contemplating the fact that perhaps burning the rubbish wasn't exactly a good idea; it'd be hell to clean, so it was most likely the man would just buy a new one instead. "So, what are you two doing here? I do believe it's not common to just barge in a superior's room."

"We're sorry, Colonel. We just thought something bad happened." Alphonse said as he bowed his head, trying to force Edward to do the same.

"No, we're not! ... _Cough, cough, cough!_ " Edward angrily argued, though the strain he had put on his voice caused him to start coughing violently as he doubled over. "Brother, you're still sick, stop trying to argue!" Alphonse tried to drag him back to the bed as a result, but Edward only shoved him off.

"Wait a minute, Al." He whispered to stop his brother's attempts, which caused Roy to look at them curiously. "I need to ask him something, so can we have a minute?" Alphonse hesitated for a moment, but then again it _was_ Roy so even if Edward tried anything reckless, it was likely he'd be forced back to rest.

"...Okay."

* * *

Alphonse suddenly leaving the room and Edward closing it brought dreaded worry upon Roy who felt like grabbing his gloves; perhaps the boy still wanted to kill him? "Colonel." Edward leaned his exhausted body against the door and its frame as he called out to the perplexed older man. "There's something I've been meaning to ask."

Roy sighed as he relaxed ever so slightly and went to close the windows, somehow he had a good idea of what Edward wanted to ask him. "Go ahead." He simply replied.

"Have you ever tried to do human transmutation?" Edward scowled in suspicion.

"So you saw those after all..." Roy muttered to himself. "Why do you ask?"

"Colonel, answer me."

"Alchemists are ugly creatures." Roy firstly said, earning himself a glare from Edward but raising his hand to allow him to continue.

It took a few minutes as Roy composed himself while staring deeply at Edward, who made it clear he would not leave until he got an answer. "The Ishbal War." He muttered with his face downcast after a while, so Edward had almost missed those three words.

"When the war was still going strong, they involved State Alchemists to gain an advantage. At that time, despite bearing the same rank as you currently do, I was one of the leading factors of that massive destruction in that march of alchemists. Probably why I made it so high at such a young age." Roy explained sullenly as he recalled the bitter memories of that time while analysing his glove's peculiar transmutation circle, and Edward could only look at him with an uncomfortable frown.

"The military did gain the upper hand, in the end. We destroyed – burnt down many homes and rebels." Roy could very well remember the scent of smoke that permeated the air, the blood that had dried within the sand as well as the sight of the houses that were slowly crumbling under the sheer power Roy could muster.

"'Alchemists, be thou for thy people'." That phrase caught Edward off-guard, though it had been one of the principles that made him the Hero of the People, he had never heard Roy properly say it himself other than from quoting Edward. "That was what I, amongst many others, used to think and that was why we joined the military. However, all I could see there was mindless massacre of people who were just trying to survive. Just, survive. To regain a peaceful life."

"Colonel..."

Roy took a breath for a pause, setting down the glove aside as he straightened and returned his glance to the uneasy boy. "You remember what I told you earlier, right? That the path you've taken will destroy you." A slight, hesitant nod followed by a frown. "This is what I mean, and the documents you've seen are a result of it from that time."

"And did you...?" Another myriad of cough followed the question as much as Edward tried to silence them with his flesh arm.

"No, as you can clearly see." Roy cut the boy short as he tapped his own right arm, well-aware that he was quite touchy with the subject of people committing the ultimate alchemical taboo. "Though I had intended to, a certain idiot stopped me before I ever really went through with it."

"Hughes?" Roy nodded with a slight smile, causing the boy to return a sad smile as well but with his face downcast; he really _had_ broken an important piece of the lives of Roy's team. "What about now, did you intend on doing it?" The core of the matter, why had Roy set those documents on his desk if they were so old? Edward couldn't help but feel suspicious and Roy probably had no choice other than truthfully answering.

"Pummelled the hell out of me in a way you would have when he found out about all this." Roy dropped the smile as he learned forwards in his hands and stared intensely as Edward to reaffirm one thing. "At first, possibly." Edward's eyes widened and he stumbled a step towards Roy, but Roy only interrupted him again with his hand. "At first, I said. I've thought about it and call me twisted, but I'm somewhat glad his death happened the way it did. Dying from anything other than actively trying to help others wouldn't have been like him. I have the feeling he'd knock me out if I were to bring him back for pathetic reasons."

Though Edward sadly smiled at this, it reassured Roy to see that he seemingly wasn't still blaming himself entirely for Hughes's death. But that would still be a sour note to leave the night on, so Roy had an idea to liven up the boy a bit before they both went to sleep.

* * *

"Speaking of... Since you at least asked before pounding my face in, I'll tell you an interesting bed time story, kid."

"I ain't a kid!" Edward snarled right back as he snapped out of his previous guilt-ridden expression. However his interest was captured nonetheless, causing the boy to lift his head to see Roy raising himself from his desk chair and presenting it to Edward.

"But first, sit down. You look like you're gonna faint any minute now." Edward scowled at those words while he sat down in Roy's place and moved away slightly since Roy was going through his admittedly messy desk to find a certain picture frame.

And when he finished, he gave it to Edward: It was the picture frame containing a picture of Hughes and himself. "Hughes and I met when we were in military school." Roy started again as Edward closely observed the picture, though he seemed to have gained the boy's interest as he looked back up to Roy and set the picture frame on the desk as soon as he was done analysing the picture once more.

"And it all started with a silent rivalry due to a... for the lack of a better term, slight disagreement."

"Disagreement?" Edward looked at Roy confusedly, he was aware Roy and Hughes had their arguments due to the doting father's bad habit to harass people with his child's pictures, but Elysia wouldn't have been born by then, right? Roy's next words had thrown him into a world of puzzlement.

"Over spinach quiche. The bastard stole the last piece from my hand at the last second and then spouted nonsense about it being his favourite to justify it."

"...Hah?"

To Edward's hilariously bemused face, Roy proceeded to recount in casual nostalgia about how the two men used to be at each other's throat in meaningless competitions just because Hughes had started it by stealing quiche from Roy; who could run the fastest whilst armed, who could shoot their cardboard targets the best...

Edward was absolutely speechless at the story for a while as he frowned, as if frozen. And then... "...Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?! You call me immature even though the two military students you were got in a rivalry over a quiche slice?!" He shouted in utter disbelief; Edward had never seen Roy in his life actively do something to try and gain the upper hand in anything since he usually always had it by the time Edward paid attention! Heck, where the hell was the adult maturity in all that?!

There were other factors in those meetings that Edward wasn't aware of, but since that was the basic gist of it Roy only nodded with a smirk as he justified himself. "Hey, military academies aren't that generous with good food. We had to take what tasted best before anyone else grabbed it."

"That _definitely_ sounds like an excuse!" Edward cried out again as he pointed an accusing finger towards Roy who only shrugged, the additional strain on his voice causing him to throw another coughing fit.

"I suggest you stop shouting, Fullmetal, before you completely lose your voice."

"Shaddup." He whispered as he finally calmed his coughing fit down. Edward slightly massaged his throat with his right hand as his eyes wandered around the room until they landed on another picture frame that was laying down flat on his desk near some books. He had tried picking it up with his left hand to see what it was, but was hurriedly stopped and nearly given a heart-attack by the older man who slammed his hand on the picture frame, forcing it back down.

"No peeking at your superior's belongings, Fullmetal." He said sternly.

"You scared the crap out of me, you ass! Surely you didn't need to nearly take out my remaining flesh hand just to tell me that, did you?!" Edward said as he defensively held his left hand against his chest, was the man trying to give him additional automail?! Roy shook the boy off with his other hand by forcibly moving the chair away from the desk and spoke up to the apprehensive teenager after looking at the time. They had spent at least half an hour talking together. That was quite a rare feat considering only a minority of it had been spent arguing. "Now, was there anything else you wanted to ask? I reckon it's about time you go back and rest." Roy finally asked as he started to feel sleepy enough to go to bed, but the lack of answer from Edward had him worried as he observed the young boy who only raised from the chair while shaking his head.

Something was definitely still bothering him.

"Reminds me, the Lieutenant..." Roy called out tentatively after considering what could still be on Edward's mind; it seemingly worked as Edward froze with his hand on the doorknob so Roy continued. "You needn't worry about her, she wasn't okay with my lying to you and rest assured; I got a good talking to afterwards.

"Huh?" Edward said with a frown at Roy's unusual sharpness, he had been certain that Riza would have cut off and rectified Roy if that were really the case, but he couldn't argue against the man who knew her better than Edward ever did.

"Then why did you..." Ultimately, he cut himself off as he thought about it and decided to just turn around again. "...Nah, forget it. Take care to keep your pyromaniac needs for when we're not around, Colonel." Roy replied a small sound of acknowledgement as he saw Edward leave his office room and close the door behind him.

Once he forgot about the idea of them definitely hating him as a justification, Edward could get pretty good ideas as to why Roy wouldn't openly confess that Hughes was dead. But whether his assumptions were correct or not, Edward ultimately didn't feel like making Roy confirm anything. After all, so long as he wouldn't lose anyone else from this unfortunate event, Edward slowly grew satisfied with things as they were even in face of it. That's what he finally managed to conclude from that long, mentally-exhausting week as he laid back down on the couch. The boy looked to Alphonse as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, prompting the armour's curiosity.

"Brother, what did you want to ask the Colonel?" Alphonse asked in a somewhat worried manner; the two hadn't been obviously arguing so for a minute he'd thought one of them was unconscious, if not dead.

"Nothing much." Edward casually replied as he set his metal hand on his throat to relieve it. Alphonse replied to this by dipping another towel and setting it down on Edward's forehead after thoroughly wringing it.

"Also, I heard you shouting about quiche? Get some rest and make sure to tell me what was that about when you feel better, Brother." Alphonse loved the idea of eating quiche, after all, so anything concerning quiche would not be something the armour would miss out on.

"Yeah, yeah." Edward said as he slowly shut his eyes with the ghost of a very content smile creeping its way through. Alphonse resumed looking over his reckless older brother until Roy came out of the study after a few minutes with something in his hand, taking a quick glance at Edward and Alphonse before heading into his room.

"Good night, Colonel!" But before Roy could close the door, Alphonse had whispered loudly while slightly waving his hand, prompting Roy to turn around again and nod.

"Good night, you two. I'll drop you off at your hotel on my way to work tomorrow." Roy was most certainly not used to saying good night to anyone, but he couldn't just ignore Alphonse's earnest attempts at being polite. It made such a change from his rude brother after all, he thought as he closed the door. What he hadn't noticed though was Edward slightly lifting and waving his hand since he preferred not to talk any further; his throat was still killing him from how much it itched.

Alphonse didn't react at this friendly gesture towards Roy but he was thankful for a brief second he couldn't show the huge grin that represented how he felt about it; Edward being actively friendly towards Roy was such a rare event he was glad he didn't miss out on.

If he were to be quite honest, despite his immense regret of what he and Edward had done to Hughes and his fear that this would happen to others as well, Alphonse remained filled with glee as he remembered that even though their lives had treated them this harshly, they had still found adults such as Gracia and Roy; adults they could rely on and trust to always set them straight on the path of their long and rough journey by reminding them of what's truly important, so that they would never lose their way.

And besides, if he thought about it on a more personal note then he thoroughly enjoyed being a witness of the rare times where Roy and Edward would put aside their quarrels and differences in order to achieve mutual better understanding.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 ** _I've broken the title pattern!_**

 _Hello to all the people who've bothered reading my story up until this point despite the lack of friendly author notes that usually accompany the end of chapters (forgive me, I just didn't find much to say about individual chapters so I figured a note at the beginning and end of the story would fit better)!_

 _After a little while of thinking, I've decided to make this the final chapter of "Better Understanding". Worry not though, an epilogue will arrive shortly to put a true end to the story and put it back on track with the "canon" I've twisted. I hope that you've found my story on this theme to be enjoyable enough despite that._

 _Since this is my first shot at a fanfiction with multiple chapters I wasn't really sure where to let the story go, but I felt this would be a good enough to end the story as its plot was focused around Edward and Roy understanding each other better, hopefully without making them too OOC? It was quite hard to get back in touch after spending nearly a year away from the franchise._

 _Massive thanks to those who followed, reviewed and set this story as favourites! You guys really kept me going there since I had no idea of how the fanfic was doing due to FFN's recent issues. And for those who haven't yet and just read randomly, feel free to_ _leave a review if you've enjoyed the story, or if otherwise and you think I could have improved on some points, I'm always opened to constructive criticism to get better!_


	11. Epilogue: Teasing of Amicability

Alphonse was quietly reading away the morning as he waited for any of the two boys to wake up, even though Edward didn't sound like he was going to wake up any time soon by how much he was snoring. Alphonse worried about whether he was straining his throat or not while doing it but decided to leave it be unless Edward openly complained about his throat... which he, frankly, most like would do at this rate.

Thankfully, it wouldn't be long until Alphonse finally gained company as Roy groggily woke up minutes later. Alphonse lifted a hand in silent greeting to the seemingly exhausted Colonel, who only returned an acknowledging nod before heading over to the bathroom with some clothes to shower and change before going to work.

Add another fifteen minutes and Roy returned in his military uniform looking as sharp as always, approaching the two boys to check on the eldest.

"His temperature went down?" Alphonse whispered happily as Roy set his hand on the boy's forehead and returned a satisfied nod to Alphonse before going to the kitchen to make himself some coffee while the clanking armour followed along to do it instead, which Roy was grateful for.

"Apologies, but I'm afraid I'm not much of the breakfast type so Fullmetal will have to grab something to eat elsewhere. I have to go to work in a few minutes anyway."

"No, I'll take care of that when we return to our hotel so it's fine, you've already done so much, Colonel!" Alphonse said as he gave the steaming hot cup of coffee to Roy who casually sipped it, and the boy wondered how it was like. Alphonse had actually never drank coffee due how young he had been when he lost his body, so he wondered if it was as bitter as people complained.

But in any cases, Roy's awaking reminded the boy that something had been bothering him over the night so he fidgeted a bit before asking Roy. "Umm... Colonel?" Roy replied a sound of interrogation without real words as he continued sipping his coffee.

"Why did you help out Brother after all that?"

"Like I said, if I were to leave him alone with you while he's sick, it's likely he'd transmute you into the floor to escape again." Alphonse laughed nervously at this, there _had_ been times where Edward resorted to such extreme solutions to get away from Alphonse's mother-like care, but the armoured boy didn't expect Roy to know about it.

"Well, I don't only mean that, you could have left him with in my care and not bother to head to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes's grave with me to hit him back into being reasonable, considering how cold Brother has been to you..." Alphonse explained as Roy rose an eyebrow to the choice of words and silently pondered before taking a final sip of his coffee and washing the cup.

"Let's say I wanted to make sure we put this behind us now."

"Why?"

"I can't make fun of Fullmetal's _short_ temper if he openly avoids me, now, can I?" Roy replied with a smirk, turning into a grin once he heard Edward groaning in anger on the couch, which made Alphonse slightly laugh in answer. "But it's nothing to thank me about." Roy said before quickly glancing at the time, tapping Alphonse on the shoulder before the boy could add anything.

"It's time for me to go to work. Don't wake up Fullmetal, though." Both Roy and Alphonse had realised how tired the blond was so they silently agreed to just drop him off while he was still asleep, and Roy quite enjoyed the idea of a silent morning. But before heading out completely of the apartment, Roy called out to Alphonse a last time.

"Also."

"Hm?"

"Though I won't apologise, I didn't hit Fullmetal just for the sake of it because I was angry, even if I was." Roy stated with his back turned to Alphonse and a hand on the doorknob. "I just didn't know of any other way to get through to his thick skull without breaking it open slightly."

"Well, Brother is stubborn and – wait, break it?!" Alphonse exclaimed in fear, but Roy only shrugged as he left the apartment. He couldn't be serious, right? Alphonse wanted to fully believe he was kidding, but perhaps he should check for himself later on, he thought as he started to pick up the snoring Edward and followed the Colonel who was waiting outside to close the door after the armour.

Alphonse and Roy somewhat struggled getting Edward in a decent position without waking it up, but somehow they had managed and Roy decided to do a bit of conversation with Alphonse whilst the eldest was asleep; he actually didn't recall many times where he'd spoken to Alphonse alone without Edward.

"By the way, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Yes?" Alphonse replied politely despite his struggles to get himself in a more... comfortable position that wouldn't scratch Roy's car. "Would you happen to know why Fullmetal came and fell asleep in my office a few days ago? Surely there'd be a better place to sleep in rather than your nemesis' workplace?"

"...Eh?" Alphonse was confused for a minute as he looked at Edward, but Roy could feel the boy was slowly coming out of his confusion and was starting to seethe inside. _"What do you mean, Colonel?"_ The boy rarely got angry so the sound of frigidity in Alphonse's voice sent chills down Roy's back.

* * *

The time for the youngest brother to pull him back out of the car approached after a long ride made relaxing by the calm rain around them. Edward shifted a bit at the cold and sharp touch of some parts of Alphonse's body as Roy held the umbrella over both of them, but he seemed too drained by his cold to bother fully waking up.

"Now then, Colonel." Alphonse called out to Roy a final time before he entered the hotel. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome." Roy returned an acknowledging nod before placing a request for the boy technically under his command and accordingly handing over a piece of paper he'd quickly scribbled for him. "Before you go, can you give Fullmetal something for me when he wakes up?"

"Okay?"

* * *

Waking up was rough, but it wasn't as bad as the previous night. Edward's head still hurt but only slightly compared to the migraines he'd been getting lately, which were arguably his own fault. A hoarse groan came out of his dehydrated throat as he forced his eyes open.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"Al... water..." The boy called out, surely believing his brother was really nearby enough to hear his whimpering, and he was correct. Alphonse clattered loudly as he hurried to oblige, handing over a glass of water to Edward who was trying to get his eyes to focus on his surroundings.

"Brother, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, my throat's just really dried out."

He took a sip while his eyes finally registered what they were seeing, causing him to frown in confusion.

"...This isn't the Colonel's house. How long have I been out for?"

"A while. It's three in the afternoon and the Colonel dropped us off this morning." A long-winded sigh came out as Edward rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion; the Colonel would definitely use all those favours against him.

Roy was already a slave driver to begin with, so the idea that he owed him so much in just three days made Edward's skin crawl. But perhaps the Colonel would let him off? He _had_ been unexpectedly kind during that time and it was entirely possible that he wouldn't blame Edward for it.

(I mean, he _can_ be a good person when he tries...) Edward thought in a rare compliment for Roy, until Alphonse tapped his shoulder and gave him a piece of paper.

"The Colonel asked me to give you this."

"Huh. What's it about?"

Alphonse looked at Edward expectedly as he had no idea of what was written in the small piece of paper; the boy wasn't plagued by the rude curiosity his elder brother had after all. But the looming, yet dangerous silence that reigned their room worried Alphonse as Edward read on with his fists clenching on the small note.

…

…

…

An explosion.

" _ **That asshole, I knew he'd pull that on me! This is the last time I'm ever going to worry about that shithead! Shit-eater! I'll kill him and dig his ass in a muddy hole filled with rain, that useless piece of shit!"**_ Edward screeched out for the whole hotel to hear almost scaring Alphonse to death; the boy found himself once again thankful for his metal body rendering him incapable of having a heart attack. He tried slamming a hand on his brother's mouth but it only slightly helped.

"Brother, stop cursing so loudly! And don't give the Colonel death wishes!"

For the next five minutes, Alphonse would try to calm his enraged brother down until he sobered up himself by having another coughing fit thanks to all the yelling. Alphonse forced him into the bathroom to take cough syrup and took a quick glance at the note while Edward was reluctantly obeying with full intentions to curse Roy out as soon as his throat felt better.

Alphonse opened the note and could only openly sweatdrop at what was written inside.

* * *

" _Yo, Fullmetal.  
Glad to see that cold of yours hasn't been impacting you that badly, I hope you'll get better soon... Because I can't wait to slave you around for all the problems you've caused me for the last three days."_

* * *

Even the armoured boy who usually always believed in genuinely good intentions had thought that was too kind for the Colonel, considering he gave that to Edward, and his suspicions were confirmed. With a closer look, there was a really small addition to the note that Alphonse had almost missed, but even as he strained himself to understand it, Alphonse couldn't comprehend what the Colonel could have meant.

* * *

" _P.S: And for Christ's sake, don't make me open up to you again. It feels unbelievably awkward to have to be honest with a pint-sized, tactless garden dwarf such as yourself, and even slightly disgusting to some degrees..."_

* * *

"Brother?" Alphonse called out as he joined Edward in the bathroom, restraining himself from breaking the mirror with his left hand. "What did the Colonel mean by "opening up to you"?" The long snarl he received as a reply originally warned Alphonse he was better off running away before Edward exploded again to recount the tale, but he was reminded of something else...

"Oh right, Brother..." Edward froze at the chilling tone of his usually kind brother, having a vague idea of why his brother would be so pissed. "Do you care to explain to me why you apparently fell asleep after dropping out your report and ultimately never did what we agreed on?"

"Umm... Well, about that, haha... It's fine, it's fine, everything is solved anyway and... Look at the time!"

Edward tried to run out of the hotel room, chased by Alphonse who was shouting out his brother's name.

* * *

"I wonder what Edward came to the office for, in the end?" Hawkeye asked as she stood still by her superior's side, waiting for him to finish his work so that they'd all call it a day as she thankfully noted the rain would probably stop soon. It had been pouring for a long while now, after all, a bit of long-lasting sun would definitely do them some good.

"According to Alphonse, it seems he wanted to apologise to me." Roy commented in an amused manner as he had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that Edward would do the first step towards apologising to Roy.

Well, he never actually did since the visit to the office took an odd turn, but the thought alone did please Roy. Perhaps the boy _was_ growing up after all... mentally. Definitely not physically. "Really now." Hawkeye replied in a somewhat surprised manner at the idea as she gradually realised the Colonel's thoughts had already shifted elsewhere.

"I wonder how well he's taken that note I left him. It's a shame I've had to miss out on that." His trademark amused smirk decorated his baby-face as he imagined the whole lot of insults that were being thrown his way, only earning himself a disapproving look and sigh from Hawkeye.

But the Colonel's smirk also showed a tint of reassurance as it was no joke that he told to Alphonse; it would be indeed sad if Roy couldn't tease Edward about his height any longer, after all.

* * *

 _Author's Note: ...Okay, I might have underestimated life's abilities at keeping me away from the computer, but I still somehow made it in time for FMA day. Yay. With this, I conclude Better Understanding with a bit more focus on Alphonse who's been sitting in the back-seat for a little while. Perhaps I should give Parental!RoyxAlphonse a go at some point?_

 _In any cases, though this month-long absence thanks to RL got me rusted for writing the epilogue, thanks for reading, favouring and reviewing my story, everyone! I hope people will continue to enjoy it even way after it's completed._

 _Rethy, out!_


End file.
